As a child growing up in Australia, each year I learned about and proudly celebrated Poland’s Constitution on the 3rd May. I take this opportunity to share some information from this significant event in our national history…

On 3rd May 1791, the Sejm (a parliament of nobles) met so the bill prepared by King Stanisław August Poniatowski and his advisers could be read. It was overwhelmingly adopted, to the enthusiasm of the crowds outside. At the time, Poland was a remarkably democratic country in contrast to her neighbours and boasted elected kings as well as a parliament. Poland's Constitution, the first in European history and the second globally, comprised 11 main articles:

  1. Freedom to all faiths
  2. Confirmed the rights of the nobility, though limiting titles to those who had land
  3. Agreed powers of towns, allowing them some representation in parliament
  4. Peasants were given the protection of law and government
  5. Power was to be split three ways – parliament, the King and the legal system
  6. „Liberum Veto” was abolished forever – a destructive rule according to which any one nobleman could put a veto on a joint decision
  7. Reintroduction of a hereditary monarchy (following many years of elected monarchs)
  8. Established an independent Tribune, protecting people’s rights
  9. Establishment of a Regency in case of the King being unable to rule
  10. The King’s children to be well educated for the good of the nation
  11. National army set up to defend independence.

Unfortunately, it was short lived. The Constitution of May 3rd provoked the final crisis of the Partitions which by 1795 had removed Poland-Lithuania from the map. In 1921, after World War I, when Poland finally regained its independence, the Constitution was revised declaring Poland a republic with a President, thereby ending any recognition of privileges of the nobility including titles.

On Sunday, 1st May, “Polonia” hosted a joyous celebration of our national day attended by all member organisation of the Federation of Polish Organisations in Queensland.

Our next Polonia Market Day will occur on Saturday, 21st May. As always, doors will open to the public at 9am (not before) and we will be open until 1pm. Pre-orders of continental smallgoods from Krakus may be placed in the usual manner. Our range of stalls will feature regular favourites and we’ll be grilling kranskis in the beer garden, with the downstairs bar open from 10am. Our restaurant will be open from 11am until 2pm and then again from 5pm until 9pm. We encourage you to reserve a table by calling 3369 2747 if you would like to dine in with us this Saturday. The Library will be open from 9am until midday.

The Polish Song & Dance Company of Brisbane “Obertas” invites everyone to their Dance Party on Saturday, 21st May, commencing at 7pm. This promises to be a fun evening featuring a floorshow by “Obertas” at 8:30pm and the opportunity to dance your socks off to the music of DJ Bonio. Other attractions include a great raffle, free tea/coffee and Polish cakes, not to mention our well-stocked bar of Polish beers and 42 flavoured vodkas! Tickets are $25 per person. Table reservations are essential and bookings can be made by calling 0402 210 712.  

Our new event, the Vodka Showcase, (held 30th April) was well attended and members enjoyed sampling various vodkas from our extensive range of new flavours while indulging in traditional bar snacks prepared by Ugly Duckling Caterer (Filip Dankowski) and listening to music from DJ Bonio and friends in our beer garden. Members were able to purchase their favourite bottles from the range to take home with them. The event resulted in a great uptake from younger members especially and we gained some new members for the Club.  We look forward to holding similar events in future.

We continue to make necessary repairs and upgrades to our beloved Dom Polski. By necessity, this is a gradual process dependent upon careful budgeting of our income stream and your generous donations (we welcome all types of financial support, whether it’s a one-time gift, regular monthly donation, or a bequest). We are pleased to announce our kitchen will soon boast a brand new industrial 6 burner gas stove and oven to ensure efficient preparation of our delicious menu offerings for your delectation.

Our search continues for motivated and experienced casual Kitchen Staff, Front-of-House (Maître d') Staff and Wait Staff. We encourage a dynamic and supportive work atmosphere and are looking for team members who can offer excellent customer service with a positive attitude. We are seeking candidates that are available on a casual “as-needed” or roster basis, in particular for Friday and Saturday shifts. If you, or someone you know, have proven experience in the hospitality industry and a positive can-do attitude, then we invite you to make contact via: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and an application kit will be emailed to you. Polish language skills are advantageous but not essential.

Dom Polski wouldn’t operate without the effort and dedication of our wonderful staff Jadzia, Magda, Agnieszka, Kasia, Patrycja and Paulina who work so hard to deliver delicious meals and serve refreshing beverages and Rysio who keeps our premises looking so great. Special congratulations to Jadzia who recently marked her 15 year anniversary of working at Polonia. Thank you for everything you have done over the years for our Club.

Whilst Mother’s Day is celebrated here on the 2nd Sunday in May, in Poland it is celebrated on 26th May. To every mother and everyone who fills a mother's role, on the occasion of Mother's Day, we hope that your children will bring you joy and a sense of fulfillment, that cares will not pile up, and above all, that much deserved rest and relaxation will not be missing from your day. The Management Committee of the Polish Association of Queensland wishes you every joy.

Have a wonderful month of May!

Henry Kurylewski

President

08.05.2022

To stay fully informed about what is happening at “Polonia”, I encourage you to regularly look at the calendar on our website: www.polonia.org.au

and follow our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/polishclubmilton and/or our Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/miltonpolishclub

The Ordinary Members of “Polonia” Polish Association of Queensland Inc. present and represented by proxies at the AGM on Sunday, 12.09.2021, elected the following new Management Committee:

 

Executive Committee

President: Henry Kurylewski

Vice-President: Paweł Krawczyński

Secretary: Eliza Hess

Treasurer: Jason Mordacz

 

Committee Members

Chris Dutkowski

Agnieszka Kowal

Robert Myszkowski

Ala Tabor

 

Internal Audit Committee

Richard Ciechanowski

Ula Daniels

Evelyn Jelliffe

Jock Ryngiel

 

Arbitration Committee

Alina Chojnacka

Beata Connors

Wiesława Dróżdż

Piotr Zieliński

 

The newly elected President thanked the outgoing Management Committee for their tireless hard work over the past five months, congratulating them on their many significant achievements in this intensive and short period of time.

“Containers for Change” (see: https://www.containersforchange.com.au/qld/) allows you to deposit your empty eligible containers and key our Scheme ID so that the funds will go directly into our Donations Account with the Westpac Bank.

This is part of a fundraising initiative for "Polonia" spearheaded by an emerging young leader of our community, Gabriella Lauf.

“Polonia” Scheme ID. C10480616

• Input the code on the screen before starting to feed the empty containers.
• Funds will be directly banked into our Donations Account.
• iPhone users and Android users can save our Scheme ID (C10480616) to their mobile wallet.
• If you don't have WalletPasses installed or Apple Wallet installed, you will need to download it from the Play Store or App Store.

Thank you for generously supporting “Polonia”